Path to wisdom

The first thing the head of US army in the New Generals School tells his new Generals is: “Remember, as soon as you get those stars, everyone will laugh at your jokes, but you’re not that funny, and everyone will write down your comments but you’re not that smart, and women will want to have sex with you but you’re not that handsome. It’s just your title. Don’t let it go to your head”. While Marshall Goldsmith adopts these wise words while coaching CEOs, it's something for all. Whatever be the position, one ought to believe that people are not saluting him/her, they’re saluting the position and the second one thinks it’s all about him/her, its over. Each and everyone of us should keep listening, keep learning, make mistakes and apologise for them - that's the path to wisdom.

Law of Least Effort

Grass doesn’t try to grow, it just grows. Fish don’t try to swim, they just swim. Flowers don’t try to bloom, they bloom. This is their intrinsic nature. In ancient Indian Science, this was called the Law of Least Effort. Nature’s intelligence functions effortlessly, frinctionlessly, spontaneously. It is non-linear, intuitive and nourishing.
In a similar way, in the conduct of our business, we are in harmony with Nature when our actions are motivated by values. When one seeks power and control over other people, we waste energy. When our actions are motivated by values, our energy multiplies and accumulates. So, what does it mean in practical terms to leverage the Law of Least Effort through actions that are motivated by values? There are three components to this Law of Least Effort:
accepting that things are the way they are at this point of time without blaming others, taking responsibility to change things for the better, and avoiding defensiveness of your view, your past actions
Count on your natural instinct for values.

Job losses - points to ponder

A nation's standard of living in the long term depends on its ability to attain a high and rising level of productivity in the industries in which its firms compete. This rests on the capacity of its firms to achieve improving quality or greater efficiency. It’s no different when it comes to individuals. More than ever, one needs to put in that extra bit to raise the bar so as to stay ahead of competition. As companies across industries looks at bolstering operational efficiency, there is no doubt that many would lose their jobs. TCS, Wipro, IBM, Infosys etc extended pink slips to non-performers who would have otherwise stayed on had the IT industry been bullish. Many of these youngsters would now be mulling over what went wrong. Venkata Narasaiah has some very important points for these aspirers which can be accessed through http://business.rediff.com/column/2009/apr/24/bcrisis-a-not-so-young-job-seekers-tale.htm.

Youngsters should learn to be adaptive innovators. As IT service companies compete – out-innovate for big deals, youngsters should work towards carving a competitive differentiator so as to attract work or let’s say better work. My key take away is the fact that in a society one ought to follow the management principle – simultaneous improvement of complementary goods. What it means is that if you wish to go up, ensure that the ecosystem rise up too. It’s worth reiterating the conclusion by Narasiah.
· Love your job and learn as much as possible. Learning comes primarily from your job. After fulfilling this requirement you can aspire for higher qualifications. If you don't respect the job you are doing who else would?
· When you are in a society you are not alone. You may have a family to support. You should not be a liability to the society or to your family.
· You can make mistakes. But don't repeat them. In important situations in life, ponder over other solutions also. But do not jump to conclusions.
· Save money for future. If you spend on unwanted things, you may not have money for essentials in the future. And, last but not the least, believe in God.

Politicians twitter, blog - does it really matter?

This election is very different with political parties trying to lower their center of gravity - trying to tap into the large and dynamic youth population in the country. Most of them have been pretty successful by leveraging various modes of communication - youtube, twitter, mobile phones etc. Does it really work? Am very skeptical. These are mostly one way communications and does not address or reflect what the youth want. Let's go back in time when the same politicians leveraged the advent of television for their campaigns. Do you recall any of the campaigns? Well, do you recall the old cinthol advertisement where Vinod Khanna tries to control a horse in a beach? Am sure many of us do recall the Cinthol ad but certainly not any of the political campaigns or rallies.

It's time for politicians to understand that they need to extend an impactful value-proposition to their audience through their communication. It can't be a one off communication - wooing them with hollow promises - which might still sell in rural India. According to Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital, "The New Web, in the hands of a technologically savvy and community-minded Net Generation, has the power to shake up society and topple authorities in many walks of life. Once information flows freely and the people have the tools to share it effectively and use it to organize themselves, life as we know will be different." Politicians should realize that the world has transitioned to become an interactive and increasingly transparent market. Free televisions, tax sops doesn't really matter but address 'what's in it for me?'

Increase in social networking

Am given to understand that there is a spurt in social networking - especially since the advent of industry downturn. Well, no hard facts to prove it but am witnessing an increasing number of people very active in social networking these days possibly driven by the need of the hour to seek if anyone anywhere has anything for them. Tried a few names in twitter including jobless, jobsless, no work etc to see the magnitude of networking. Not surprisingly, 'no work times' had more than 240 following, jobsless had an equal number. What intrigued me was the messages in these profiles - free healthcare for the jobless, free software, free movies etc. So, no wonder why there is increased networking - freebies are ubiquitous.
Wonder how this network will evolve? Will it result into job-sharing? Will it give rise to new social-networking based business models?

Is Business Intelligence really Intelligence?

An interesting article in CIO.com reinforced my increasing skepticism that IT thrives on complexity. Companies worldwide invested in data warehousing – to store corporate data and structure them with rules and then adopted business intelligence to obviously get ‘intelligence’ from the data stored. What then is analytics? According to Scott Staples, Co-CEO at Mindtree – Business Intelligence is a misnomer. The gorillas in the industry coined the term – a concept possibly to create new avenues in the database market, targeting companies that were now seeking ways to slice and dice data and generate reports. That was intelligence ten years back – just churning out reports. The scenario is very different today with mobile workforce and an economy that warrants decision-making in a jiffy. Organizations are required to know themselves and the ecosystem better than others, implying analysis of ‘whatever information residing across the organization’ anywhere anytime. That’s where analytics come into play – empowering today’s organization with ‘intelligence’ at the point of action. Wonder why it’s not called Business Intelligence 2.0 – remember web 2.0? Well, it seems until and unless there is a new concept – technology adoption doesn’t gain traction. How is the concept of utility computing any different than today’s buzz word – cloud computing? Most technology firms today seem to have specialists who can churn out ‘buzz concepts.’

Poverty of attention

Was thinking about the plethora of information that's available today for carrying out specific tasks, when I was lead to an interview with Google's Chief Economist on McKinsey quarterly. According to him what's really scarce in the internet is attention. Well, isn't it true? He quotes psychologist Herb Simon - "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
That brings to me the theory of positioning. Am not referring to the marketing concept but positioning of self. Does having 500 people in your network of friends enable you achieve anything better than someone with just 50? Does quality of friends circle matter? Well, am trying to recall names of all my friends and what they do these days - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ....8 Oops! tough, am racking my brains for more.
As the world becomes increasingly connected, quality of friends-circle and positioning matters a lot. Bigger the circle doesn't make one effective.

Quest for prominence

Everyone wants to be first, everyone wants to be known - that's common across India. Be it on the roads in Bangalore or in the digital fast lanes -online, the quest for prominence is increasing by the day. An article in the Hindu corroborates this http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200904031878.htm. According to the Norton Online Living Report, Indians are more likely to make friends online and fall just behind the Chinese in seeking friends online. Be it film actors or technology companies, the quest for prominence is evident in their initiatives. Kareena Kapoor, a leading bolllywood actress dumped lesser known Shahid Kapur for an established and 'prominent' figure in the industry - Saif Ali Khan. Technology start-ups are more likely to come to Bangalore than other cities as they can leverage the existing ecosystem for technology in Bangalore. Their strategy would then be limited to gaining prominence in this existing ecosystem.
The undying quest for prominence is today attracting others to be a part of the 'prominence' ecosystem.

India's the focus for marketeers

The best solution often pops up in a crisis. With the economic downturn, an increasing number of companies seem to be closely reviewing their marketing strategy. From cars to software, emerging markets for now seems to be the only opportunity. Laden with oversold and undersold customers, markets like India could potentially be a marketeers delight. At a time when stakeholders are crying for optimal use of resources and organizations worldover seek cost effective resources - skills and raw materials, countries like India gain prominence. Take for instance IBM, which is leveraging India as a market and also a talent hub. The company recorded a growth of 27% (to be confirmed) in 2008 in India. Cisco is no different. GE Medicals, in its attempt to make India a strategic center for its global healthcare equiptment market is investing $25 mn in a special laboratory in Bangalore that would simulate the complete environment of a hospital to test new products. The company expects to double its revenue from India to $1 bn in three to five years. Further, GE healthcare is also looking t targeting Indian home healthcare market with sleep care and home respiratory system.
Added to this is the focus on tier II and III towns in India. With sanity prevailing across the unreasonably paid workers ecosystem in India, several of them are moving to the outskirts to cut costs - especially the exorbitant rent. This should eventually pave way for development in the periphery, pmlying further growth in the market. Add to this the reverse brain drain, Indian market is all set to be an attractive destination.

Was again caught at the railway gate this morning and when the train passed by – it reminded me of the year 2008. Time’s passing by at warp speed, so is technology getting integrated into our lives. The question is – are we adapting to the change? Here are some take aways:
a. This is a take from Forrester on marketing. However, considering the market situation at this juncture, thought the points are apt for our business as well. We all know there is need for a new approach to ensure client delight. The research firm proposes a metric called engagement that includes four components: involvement, interaction, intimacy, and influence. Well, all of us are doing one or more with our clients but the objective should be to ensure we carry out all.
b. Be human – Be more service-oriented. Give a personal touch to all your interactions with clients. Here’s a mail from someone which was forwarded to me - I talk to reporters and bloggers and my publisher. “I get a lot of email. An awful lot. After 13 years as an analyst, a lot of people know my email address, and I’m on many, many marketing mailing lists. I am a target for PR people. In all these interactions I have observed something. When people treat me like a human and not a “marketing target,” I like that. Not only that, when I make a human connection with somebody, whether it’s the client building a social application strategy or the person checking me in for my flight, it goes better. When things go wrong, I can nearly always trace it back to somebody not behaving like a human, and not treating me like a human. I will no longer put up with this. And you, my readers, are going to help me.” Treat clients and journalists the way you’d want them to treat you.
c. Network – Orkut, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. Guess, it’s time to get offline and meet people…

Me in a Complex world

Technology companies are undoubtedly breeding grounds for mediocrity. They thrive on complexity - and nurture people who can create concepts that can add to the complexity. Tom's different. He has been focusing on business intelligence for years, much more than his peers. He has a colleague - Dick, who has to expand the market for complexity so as to intelligently extend their solution - BI. Tough job, considering they're monkeys in the industry. Well, Dick's not the best in business, realizes Tom, especially when competitors are gaining momentum in the market and faster-innovation-to-market is the order of the day. They hire Harry - a wise man in his 30s with demonstrated success of building complexities - and of course well networked. Now, the question is how do they expand the market for complexity?
Shouldn't they be leveraging each and every opportunity that comes across, build critical mass and then be choosy? Well, that's when 'me' stepped in. Me build a plan to cast a wide net, let the market know about Tom - simultaneously pursuing big ticket wins to showcase Tom's innovative approach to complexity. But then, what will Dick and Harry do? Hmm - remember they're here to build complexity. Last heard, Dick and Harry is waiting for big tickets to come their way. They are now insisting Me to hunt for big tickets.

Sunny Side Up

I occasionally get a fleeting glance on the goings on at Big Boss, thanks to my wife who keeps a constant vigil on the programme. While there's constant bitching about the inmates, within and outside, I strongly feel it's extremely tough for the participants - emotionaly and physically to continue to be their own self. Imagine yourself showing your sunny side up always. Well, the thought makes my facial muscles twitch. Am trying to figure out how the participants manage to act for the camera and then be their own self towards their peers. Well, this seems to be an ideal platform for getting trained in developing "dual personality."

Greatness!!!

Am not one of those who proactively network a lot. May be because I listen intently,talk softly or my subdued nature - people just try to strike a conversation with me. Frankly, I love it - love to listen, assimilate their stories, knowledge, learnings. Well, that's what happened during my return trip from Kochi to Bangalore. Mr.A.R.K.Menon, a 70 year old industrialist, started conversing with me - the way he grew up, what he imbibed from his father, his first trip to London by ship and how he conjured up the guts to inform his father about his business venture. 70 or so years of wisdom - poured into me. I really felt very fortunate to have met this amazing personality. And, when he extended his chauffer driven Safari to drop me to my office, when we landed, I started thinking, what a wonderful 3 hours which would have been a sheer waste had I not met him. What triggered the conversation, why did we bump into each other, why on earth would he offer to drop me? Some quetions are best left unanswered.

Only the paranoid survive

I had written on this topic sometime back. But, everytime I see paranoia around me, am tempted to key in again. Let me describe a typical paranoid person or one that pretend to be so. Unsrupulous is one word that I shall immediately associate with such a person. Add to this lumps of document that is piled on his/her desk, scurrying up and down the boss's cabin, always seraching for something are other constants that exemplifies a paranoid person.

The last laugh

Tom's going after search, Dick's trying to catch up with him, equipped with the necessary stamina boosters and Harry's observing the game with a smirk bright on his face - Yeah Guys, Go On....Hmm.Harry's an established security expert.

The world's definitely shrinking with increasing emphasis on "search." With Google going on a war-footing to extend search as personalized as it can be and MS pursuing in the same lines, privacy, security, confidentiality etc becomes a thing of the past. There will certainly be an increasing number of M&A's in the near future which could transform the business landscape - Search+storage+security. Wonder, who'll have the last laugh.

Tactics to gain prominence

Third party endorsement seem to be a vehicle used by many to gain prominence. While, subject matter experts have been astutely leveraging the power of ink to get favourable and impactful positioning by writing thought-provoking pieces, some not-so-wise are seen misusing this. The recent past have seen many, sensitising subjects and individuals, irrelevant and sometimes trash to their advantage. While there was mud-slinging at an actress for her remarks on pre-marital sex, an advocate in Madurai has moved the High Court there for remanding leading actresses from bollywood who according to him posed in a provocative manner in some unknown magazine. Am sure the actresses wouldn't have had the faintest of ideas about the snap, leave alone the summons. It beats me how a court of law can move public figures just on account of vague statements issued by even vague personalities. A look at any of the foreign glossies on news-stands will expose hollywood actors. Does it mean that anyone can issue a summons on them as well? This is certainly a clear motivation on the advocate's part to gain prominence. He seem to know the PR tactics pretty well.

Coffee, you and me

I was pondering over ideas to sell coffee and its variants. Secondary searches and interactions with acquaintances revealed some interesting insights. While one part of the country devoured tea, the other supported the coffee movement. Even more intriguing was the fact that an increasing number of players in the coffee ecosystem were trying to consolidate, fortify, entrench their presence in the coffee-friendly part. Why not target the undersold customers in India? Well, the investment required to convert this potential market is significantly high. Add to this is the "flashy" lifestyle enjoyed by the potential customers here. What if they are flashy? Hmm...they don't consume the product sold in the market,viz., the coffee powder. They prefer to luxuriate in a trendy parlour, spend major portion of their salary sipping iced coffee. Here, money brings in lethargy. So, the marketing pundits trying to make in-roads into undersold markets prefer to channelize their investment to the oversold market. NOw, wait a minute. What if we sell premium labels to this lethargic, undersold customers. Ably supported by an intelligent communication strategy, anything flashy can be sold to these customers. Lemme try.

Aggressive or Submissive

The last few evenings were hectic, observing people from diverse backgrounds, understanding their manners. And, to some extend, I was right. People down south are submissive, tolerant and yes, loyal. The chaps from up north are notoriously aggressive, and flashy. What's intriguing, however is the fact that most South Indians, whom I know were born submissive transformed into aggressive bullies after their stint up North. Even more intriguing is the fact that most of these chaps "pretend" to be what they are, ie, they deliberately carry dual personality. Why? Well, it's a positioning that will fetch favourable results on the professional front. With corporates harping on EQ than IQ, these chaps have an edge. Be it marketing, contact centers, consulting, they'll hold an edge over South Indians. What am I coming to? POsitioning in life is as important as positioning of brands in the market. Your salary could largely depend on that.

Personal PR

PR is an ever expanding field. The scope of it is self-determined. We've been involved in corporate PR, technology PR, product PR, sportsPR, personality driven PR etc. Quite alaming then that many of us have failed to create any hype for ourself - be it in our profession or personal life. Can we adopt the same strategy we extend to, for instance the CEO of a company. My feeling is that we can. POsitioning one appropriately at the workplace, amongst friends, leveraging our core strength to generate maximum mileage etc are all components of PR. We often come across peers cribbing about various things - unsatisfied job, work load, unscrupulous friends etc. Why? Is it to convey something about themselves or others. More on this later after a quick analysis.

Too many cooks spoil the broth

If you are in the business of PR and intend continuing in the line, you may want to know what's coming your way. The media landscape is transforming at a rapid pace. Competition is enormous and increasing by the day. No doubt, cost pressure is reflecting on the quality of newspapers, content in particular.ToI is a perfect example trying to thwart competition by ethical as well as unethical means at the same time diversifying their interest by exploring various revenue streams - paid journalism included. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Consider other means of communication - podcasting, blogging, texting etc. While on the face of it, these modes will extend various media options for PR professionals, very soon this unpaid and convenient mode will engulf the urban population paving way for getting "news updates" (read corporate messages) as and when they desire.
For public relations professionals, these profound changes in media are both a challenge and opportunity. However, with traditional channels under siege, PR pros will need to embrace new skill sets and mind set to sustain growth. One leading PR professional offered the following tips to adapt to the changing scenario:
1) Retrain work force. PR should move away from "pitching the story" mentality. PR can be part of conversations on line. Pros have to be smart about subject and careful with facts because these discussions are always on the record.
2) Recognize the influence and credibility of blogs. David Kiley of Business Week wrote about Paramount Studios' success with a niche film, Hustle & Flow, which was promoted through music blogs and fan sites. Thirty five percent of moviegoers said they were motivated to see the film through discussions on line.
3) Experiment.
PR should be working with video clips attached to press materials to make it easier for bloggers in consumer technology to create v-blogs. PR should seek out innovative sponsorships with traditional media, including cross-platform content creation such as a discussion of real beauty, brought to you by HLL's Dove. The speed of information is now the defining parameter of organizational operations and change. And as those speeds increase, executives and entrepreneurs who understand how to manage information in the media will continue to see their stock rise.Put in its most simple terms, one bad move in the media today can be disastrous for a company. In two to three years, such a move might be terminal.PR professionals, because of their focus on positioning and the strategic relationships between brands and stakeholders, are in a unique position to capitalize on this opportunity.